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I was looking at the 1901 Assassination switch thread and sparked this question - let's say the Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, is shot dead in Buffalo. What impact would that have on history?

With WM still as President, the USA might have avoided any sort of interference in the Russo-Japanese war which could have avoided the next 37 years of antagonism between Japan and the USA. WM was an economic hawk at heart - taking Cuba, the Philippines and Hawaii was a walk in the park. Standing up to Russia and Japan would probably have proven more intimidating and he might have backed down.

WM might not have encouraged Panama to revolt from Columbia in order to build the Panama Canal and probably would not have launched a crusade against the Party Election Machine leading to increased corruption in US politics. Although he was a tentative union supporter, we can probably count on WM turning a blinder eye to certain underhanded business practices continuing to be carried out rather than being regulated against.

What this might lead to is an economic powerhouse which, the Spanish American War aside, might lead to either an increasing sense of American isolation in world affairs or an America which is too nervous to upset the apple-cart lest it damage the economy. This will, of course, butterfly if/when WW1 breaks out.
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